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Tackling Tough Problems

Now that you've found a team of open and excited thinkers, it's time to get down to business. Solicit an open request for tough problems from the team. Encourage everyone to bring tangible examples: new and old gadgets, articles, information about new advancements, customer and lead user-insights and observations.

With meeting time and space secured, begin to weigh in on promising ideas, but no matter what you select, set the mantra for the endeavor: "Innovation through bravery and added value." Think of it this way: Great ideas survive and succeed only through acts of bravery. This certainly isn't meant as a catch-all statement, but it helps the team to fight the natural tendency to overvalue the proven and undervalue the new and unknown. Vetting ideas and reducing risk come from iterating, experimentation, prototypes, and testingnot a moment sooner.

TIP

Give your executive a voice in selecting ideas. This approach creates a mentorship and learning environment that's beneficial to everyone.